Northwestern (8-10, 2-5 B1G) won its second straight with a 66-61 win over Wisconsin (11-7, 3-4 B1G) at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Thursday night as they look to gain momentum heading into the thick of conference play.
For the ‘Cats, Grace Sullivan led the way with 19 points and 4 rebounds on 6-for-13 shooting. Tayla Thomas and Caroline Lau also had big games with Thomas finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Lau scoring 15 with nine assists.
The Badgers were led by Destiny Howell, Breauna Ware and
Ronnie Porter who had 13, 12 and 10 points respectively.
Wisconsin won the opening tip, and Porter got them on the board immediately with a back-door layup. A series of offensive rebounds by Northwestern’s Thomas prolonged its opening possession but it ultimately ended with a wrap-around foul committed by Thomas. After the two teams exchanged misses early on, Wisconsin’s Breauna Ware’s layup broke the ice with a little over six minutes to go in the quarter to put the Badgers up 4-0. Sullivan finally got the ‘Cats on the board on the following possession on an assist by Xamiya Walton. An elbow jumper by Sullivan tied the game at four and a layup by Thomas, assisted by Casey Harter, tied the game at six heading into the TV timeout.
Wisconsin’s Howell made the first three of the night coming out of the timeout and an NU turnover followed by a Gift Uchenna layup put the Badgers up 11-6. The ‘Cats responded by continuing to pound the paint as Tayla Thomas converted an and-one opportunity. Early fouls by both teams put the ‘Cats and the Badgers in the bonus late in the first quarter, and Sullivan and Wisconsin’s Dorja Zaja each knocked down a pair of free throws. A Badger layup and Caroline Lau deep three ended the tightly contested first quarter with Wisconsin leading 15-14.
Zaja got the scoring started in the second quarter for Wisconsin with a putback layup but a Thomas steal and pair of made free throws kept the gap at one. Porter responded with Wisconsin’s second three of the night and an and-one converted by Jovana Spasovski put the Badgers up seven. Another poor NU offensive possession followed by a Howell three-ball forced Northwestern Head Coach Joe McKeown to call a timeout with 7:26 to go in the second.
The ‘Cats returned to the paint after the timeout, resulting in two free throws made by Thomas. Layups on consecutive trips by Harter and Thomas gave the ‘Cats some momentum and their defense picked up the intensity, forcing a string of Badger misses and turnovers. Another Harter layup, assisted by Lau, saw Wisconsin’s lead fall to 28-24 with 3:24 remaining in the half. A Zaja lay-in broke a scoring drought of over three minutes for the Badgers, and Howell made a circus layup to put them up eight once more. Yet, a pair of Sullivan free throws, a Walton jumper and Sullivan fadeaway at the horn cut the Badger lead to 32-30 at the half.
Thomas led the way for the ‘Cats with 11 points and seven rebounds. Sullivan contributed 10 points and Lau had three assists. Howell had 10 points and was Wisconsin’s leading scorer at the break.
Thomas continued to have the hot hand for Northwestern, opening the second half with a layup. The two teams exchanged buckets, and Lau gave NU its first lead of the game at 36-34, two minutes into the second half. The ‘Cats continued to let their defense fuel their offense, forcing Wisconsin’s 12th turnover and cashing in via another Lau open layup.
A timeout seemed to settle things down for the Badgers as a Laci Steele layup and Ware three-point play put them back on top. Harter then responded with a corner three ball as the two teams went back-and-forth, tied at 41 with 4:47 remaining in the third quarter.
A Ware and-one conversion for Wisconsin followed by another Lau three-pointer continued the teams’ hot-shooting third quarter. Harter then knocked down a three from the left wing, and Sullivan made a pair of free throws to push the Cats’ lead to five. The Wildcat defense maintained its urgency to end the quarter, and Tate Lash got on the board with an elbow jumper to give Northwestern a 51-44 lead, ending the quarter on a 10-0 run over the final 4:27.
Wisconsin’s Howell ended the run on the first possession of the fourth on a corner three-pointer, yet Lau hit her third three of the game on the other end. Porter knocked down a three for the Badgers, yet, once again, Walton made a three pointer on the other end as the floodgates opened from deep. Four Sullivan points sandwiched a layup by Wisconsin’s Shay Bollin as Northwestern maintained its seven point lead with five minutes to play.
Kyrah Daniels made a three for the Badgers with 4:02 to play but Sullivan’s and-one conversion 45 seconds later kept Wisconsin at arms length, NU leading 64-57. Thomas committed a foul on the defensive end for the ‘Cats, Bollin making one of two free throws.
The Badgers were unable to take advantage of a Lau turnover, but Wisconsin’s switch to zone gave Northwestern troubles, the ‘Cats leading 64-58 with 1:50 to play. Both teams missed shots on their next possessions but an NU turnover with 53.5 seconds remaining kept Wisconsin in the game.
Daniels punished the ‘Cats with her second made three of the game and Wisconsin’s full-court defense forced McKeown to call his final timeout with 29.8 seconds left and his team up by three.
An errant pass by Sullivan and a foul on Walton gave Wisconsin the ball with 26.3 seconds remaining. Ware missed a layup but the ball remained with the Badgers, the clock reading 10 seconds. On likely their final possession of the game the Badgers got the shot they wanted, but Porter missed a corner three-pointer. Lau made two free throws on the other end and Northwestern pulled off the upset, winning 66-61.
